There is strong public support for more robust UK government intervention to encourage responsible tax planning by business, according to research from the Fair Tax Mark
A poll of over 2,000 adults conducted by ICM found three quarters (74%) support a call for all companies, whatever their size, to publicly disclose the taxes that they do or do not pay in the UK, with only 4% disagreeing. Currently small businesses are not required to disclose their profits and taxes paid, and can file abridged accounts.
More than half (59%) said that the government and local councils should consider a company's ethics and how they pay their tax as well as value for money and quality of service provided, compare to 15% who thought contracts should be awarded regardless of ethics and tax conduct.
Three times as many people disagreed as agreed (49% vs 16%) with the Big Four firms being able to sell tax avoidance advice to businesses while auditing the accounts of those same businesses.
The research showed that only 11% trust a company auditor to confirm that a business is paying the right amount of tax, compared to 36% trusting an independent accreditation scheme and 48% trusting HMRC.
However, responses were split in terms of whether the government should reduce the amount of tax companies pay in order to attract foreign investment into the country to create UK jobs. Just over a quarter (28%) say it should, a third (34%) say it should not, and 38% do not know.
Paul Monaghan, chief executive, Fair Tax Mark said: ‘Our research has found that the majority of the UK public want to see radical change in the area of tax reporting and auditing, and they want to see public procurement take much more account of responsible tax planning.’
Margaret Hodge, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on responsible tax, said: ‘This research shows that tax avoidance and evasion are still major concerns for the public, despite recent moves to crack down on this behaviour. The government is now committed to introducing public registers of beneficial ownership in the British Overseas Territories; this is a small but powerful provision that marks a significant change in how tax havens operate and it will shatter secrecy and uphold fair competition and democracy. But much more action is needed.’
Report by Pat Sweet
